Allred will be key attraction at tourney

Professional golfer Jason Allred will be sharing his knowledge and skills today in Eagle Point during the inaugural Young Life Golf Tournament.

By Tim Trower

Professional golfer Jason Allred will be sharing his knowledge and skills today in Eagle Point during the inaugural Young Life Golf Tournament.

The event is run by Allred's brother, Ryan, who is the boys golf coach at St. Mary's High.

Jason, who was raised in Ashland, will put on a clinic for kids beginning at 7:30 a.m., and adults can watch. He'll then do a demonstration of different shots, tell stories and generally entertain tournament-goers. Pro bowling great Marshall Holman, who has played a number of celebrity golf tournaments, is also expected to take part.

During the tournament, Jason will hit drives on the first hole for each team as they come through.

"He has fun with it," said Ryan. "He'll probably hit until they're happy. He's going to be hitting a lot of drives."

As part of the winning team's prize, Jason has volunteered to play a round with it in the coming weeks. The Scottsdale, Ariz., resident is expected to be in the Rogue Valley for a few weeks.

One of the topics Jason is expected to broach is last year's U.S. Open. He made the cut for the first time in a major and tied for 47th place. He was tied for 14th place after the first round and climbed into the top five on the second day.

Allred has played two full years each on the PGA and Nationwide tours but doesn't have status with either this year.

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TEACHING PROFESSIONAL Ed Fisher has been on a roll of late, winning tournaments the past couple weeks at his home course, Rogue Valley Country Club.

Most recently, he and his 12-year-old son, Reese, won the gross championship in the Father-Son Tournament at RVCC. Their score of 154 edged RVCC head pro Jim Wise and his son, Scott, by one shot.

"Neither one of us was really great," said Ed Fisher. "We kind of scratched and clawed. And we both missed (putts) from inside 3 feet on the last hole. It was nice to see that we won by one instead of losing by one when you do something like that. But it's a pretty cool thing to get out there and have some fun with your son like that."

There were 66 players, and every swing by both players counted — a rarity in team tournaments. Usually, it's a best-ball or Chapman format that allows some margin for error. In this format, fathers could also play with more than one child.

Ed Fisher shot a 70 and Reese an 84. Jim Wise (79) and Scott (76) were right behind.

In the net division, Dave Rasmussen (81, net 63) teamed with his daughter, Trina Jones (75, net 69), to win with a score of 132. Ron Dixon (85, net 70) and son Kevin (75, net 71) were second at 141.

A week earlier in the Rogue Valley Shoot Out, Fisher and Dane Smith teamed up for the low gross title over two days. Playing a best ball the first day and a scramble the second, they shot 128, five strokes clear of the field. Fisher was stellar in the best ball, figuring he was around 6-under 66 on his own ball.

"We ham-and-egged it really well," said Fisher. "The first day, I played awfully well. The next day in the scramble, Dane really picked us up. He made key putts and at key times. We've been playing in that thing for a long time, so it was kind of fun to win."

Still, he couldn't help but think of the one that got away.

Fisher hit the par-5 12th in two during the best-ball portion, which is quite a feat on the 571-yard hole. But he three-putted from 35 feet below the hole.

"I couldn't have hit two woods any better," he said.

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THE SOUTHERN OREGON Golf Championships are going high-tech and providing incentive for early sign-ups.

The popular match-play tournament that runs for a week through Labor Day is taking online registration, and everyone who signs up by 6 p.m. on Aug. 16 will be put in a drawing to win $1,000.

To sign up online, go to https://secure.inverselogic.com.

Entry fees are $250 for members of Rogue Valley Country Club, which hosts the tournament; $275 for nonmembers and $450 for married couples.

Players are guaranteed four rounds of golf: a practice round, a qualifying round and at least two matches.

The tournament is the largest single-site amateur match-play event in the U.S. For information, call the RVCC pro shop at 772-4050.

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TOP LOCAL JUNIOR golfers Dylan Wu and Kevin Murphy fared well in the prestigious Peter Jacobsen Junior Challenge this week at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell.

Wu, from Medford, placed third in the Boys Division. He shot rounds of 75 on Tuesday and 74 on Wednesday for a total of 149. Diego De La Torre, of Brusch Prairie, Wash., won the division with a 146. Billy Pollock Jr., of Eugene, was second at 148.

Wu was consistent, making 12 pars in each round and only one double bogey in two days.

Murphy, of Rogue River, tied for fourth with a pair of 2-under 70s in the Junior Division. Zachary Foushee, of West Linn, won with a score of 134, including 65 the first day.

Murphy was 2 over on Day 2 heading into the 15th hole, then went birdie, par, birdie, eagle. He made seven birdies in the first round but five bogeys.

Three Medford golfers had top-10 placings in the youngest division, the Intermediate Boys. Joshua Wu tied for fifth at 154, Reese Fisher was seventh at 157 and Jeremy Wu was eighth at 159.

Have a local golf story idea? Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479, or email ttrower@mailtribune.com